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REMINISCENCES 



OP 



THE EIGHT BEY. 



WILLIAM MEADE, D.D., 
i 

BISHOP OF THE PEOT. EPIS. CHURCH 
IN VIRGINIA, 

From August 19th 1829, to March 14th 186*2. 



By Eey. K. Nelson, 
ii 

Missionary in China. 





SHANGHAI: 

" ching-foong" general printing office, 
1878 




PEEFAOE. 



Great examples of good are great public treasures, 
and like other riches are often "laid up" where 
they yield no increase, instead of being " turned 
over " to the profit of the owner and the good of others. 

As a hard worker, with the hand, at his plough, 
or with the head, at his books, — as a patriot who 
loved his own people and his native land, — as a 
Christian man and Bishop whose life was one act 
of devotion to his Master, and who served well his 
generation and the Church, — Bishop Meade was and 
is an example worthy to be remembered. 

The number of those who knew him is gradually 
getting smaller, and whatever knowledge of him 
they have, which might benefit their kind, (and 
there is much besides that contained in Bishop Johns' 
valuable " Memoir,") had far better be made over to 
the public, than buried in their graves. 

In this view of the matter, though now in the far 
East, yet having been long a pupil of Bishop Meade's, 
and having learned to fear him in childhood, to re- 
verence him in youth and love him in after years, I 
venture to publish these brief reminiscences of the 
man who in 'virtutis robore 1 was of all I have ever 
known, easily the first. 

Eobert Nelson. 
Shanghai, China, 
Feast or the Epiphany, 1873. 



REMINISCENCES 



BISHOP MEADE. 



As feathers show the course of the wind 
and straws the current of the tide, better 
than heavier bodies do, so, little words and 
deeds often show the bent of a man's cha- 
racter and the tenor of his life better than 
matters of more weight, which suit the 
graver pages of history. 

The life of Bishop Meade had its full 
share of these little strongly luminous 
points, the rays of which, could they be 



b REMINISCENCES OF 

gathered to a focus, would give a more life- 
like and speaking portrait of him than any 
ever taken with the Camera. And having 
had, from my childhood, opportunities of 
knowing some of these striking little things, 
I think that, if written down, they might 
interest others, and perhaps stir up some 
persons richer in the like material, to con- 
tribute of their stock for the general good. 
For nothing can be counted without value, 
which may serve to keep in mind the life 
and example of such a man. 

My first impression to be given here, as 
first in my memory, is of Bishop Meade as 
A Disciplinarian, 

And this I received on a visit at his house 
in 1828, just before entering the private 
school in his family, to which a few besides 
his sons were admitted. I was the sixth 
on the list. On the occasion mentioned, 



BISHOP MEADE. 



while toasting a piece of bread at the dining 
room fire, I was somewhat startled by Mr. 
Meade, informing me that I might toast my 
bread that day, but when I went to school, 
there could be no toasting allowed then. 
This was the first impression, indeed, but 
by no means the worst; and even those wise 
old sayings, " first impressions last long- 
est/' — " it is nothing when you get used to 
it," — and the like, must all give way in this 
case, as the tender sensibilities of the child 
had striking proof, many a time afterwards, 
that in the matter of the toast, he felt but 
the gentlest touch of the iron in the man 
whose will gave law to that house. The 
invariable, inexorable and irresistible day- 
break call to "get up " and go to the barn 
to feed the stock, — never mind the snow on 
the ground, or the frost in the hay, (a call 
given by Mr. Meade in person, and in a 



8 REMINISCENCES OF 

voice of thunder which proved the lightning 
in it, — as he, in person, led the way to his 
barn followed by shivering urchins, with 
their pockets sewed up, to keep their little 
hands from getting tender,—) that day- 
break call gave, for years, an impression of 
daily increasing power, that we had entered 
a school of harder discipline than even 
Spartan boys had ever known. Then the 
calls to pull down fences and put them up 
again, when we came short of the mark of 
hard exercise, — and the throwing wide open 
of the door of the warm school-room, when 
we were thought to be too cozily hugging 
the ten-plate stove, and turning us out to 
stir ourselves in the cold, — and those seven- 
mile walks or hard, cold rides to church, — 
the gathering of ice, or of hay, wheat and 
corn in their season, — these all left marks 
of their kind, not easily effaced from a 



BISHOP MEADE. 9 

school-boy's mind, I well remember too, 
the salsafy-bed in the garden assigned me 
to handweed and keep in order till his re- 
turn, by " Mr. Meade/' when about to start 
on that long and mysterious journey (as it 
seemed to me then, 1829) to Philadelphia, 
to be made a Bishop. Nor have I forgot 
that the returned Bishop did not fail to 
inspect the salsafy-bed. 

But the Body — that potent little word — 
contains the concentrated essence of all the 
discipline of Bishop Meade's house. It 
was not a symbol but an implement of 
force — seldom seen but to be felt, seldom 
brought out but for use. It might be a 
switch, of any wood that had the requisite 
substance, (for let it be remembered that 
Bishop Meade was a substantial man with- 
out one whit of sham) or it might be some 
hapless school-boy's arrow, which he had 



10 REMINISCENCES OF 

nicely polished, feathered and laid by all 
ready for his play time sport, but which, 
alas, (to vary the original, slightly) 
" With many a shaft on other aim intent, 
Found mark the little archer little meant.' ' 

Or the Bod might be a " cowhide/' — which, 
whatever be its rank, station or estimation 
among the men, women or children of to- 
day, — held a highly respected place in that 
house, where it hung in solitary and com- 
manding dignity from a nail on the inner 
passage-wall. Sad day for somebody, when 
it was taken down, — as it was only now and 
then, when it was employed to train some 
erring youth in the way he should go, or to 
pronounce in some case of wrong, one of 
those final decisions from which there is no 
appeal, or, to give an award, registered in 
black and blue, it might be on the shoulders, 
it might be in the hands or elsewhere, but 



BISHOP MEADE. 11 

in any case to be cut into the memory in 
characters which years do not make old. 

Or, the Bod might be a " horsewhip/' so 
often in those days, the companion of the 
Virginia horseman, and so handy to use in 
a case of discipline. 

My first formal introduction to this ins- 
trument was on the occasion of a misde- 
meanour, by which some unfortunate swine 
had been roughly used. The culprits, se- 
veral of us in number, were caught in the 
act by Mr. Meade himself, who summoned 
us to follow him to the house, where punish- 
ment awaited us. Shaking in my shoes, I 
followed with the rest, wondering what was 
to come of the hot displeasure of the broad- 
shouldered man who walked in ominous 
silence before us. We were ordered to sit 
down, and sentence did not linger. For 
soon Mr. Meade returned and said, he "had 



12 REMINISCENCES OF 

intended to make our hands sore iviih the 
horsewhip," but that Mrs. M. had begged 
for us, and he would that time let us off with 
a milder punishment. But our angel of 
mercy was not always by. For example, — 
As we were sitting one night at our desks 
in the usual school hours, Mr. Meade, 
equipped for the visitation of a sick gentle- 
man at the White-Post, came into the 
school-room, where, seeing one of the boys 
asleep on his seat, he forthwith delivered a 
most awakening call, enforcing it by a 
vigorous and rapid application of that con- 
venient horsewhip. And immediately 

" Conticuere omnes, intentique or a tenebant." 
Again, I have a well-preserved record in 
my memory, that one day, when the Bishop 
was about to set off, in the early spring, on 
an Episcopal visitation, (having, as his 
custom was, sent two of us into the garden 



BISHOP MEADE. 13 

to feed the cattle from the rows of cabbages 
buried there for use,) he, mounted for his 
journey and spying us two rather actively 
engaged in a little " brush " together, rode 
to the garden enclosure, where one of the 
pales was conveniently off, and holding me 
accountable for the fray, on the score of a 
little more age and temper, he called me to 
come through the opening, got down, ad- 
ministered on me with his riding-whip, 
mounted his fine black arab again, (all in 
less time than I have been in writing it) 
and went on his way, rejoicing, I dare say, 
in having driven " the old boy " out of the 
young one, and apparently quite uncon- 
cerned about the pain occasioned by this 
process of exorcism. 

Bishop Meade was a strong government 
man, and a disciplinarian by education, 
temperament and faith. He held to the 



14 [REMINISCENCES OF 

traditions of his forefathers and mothers on 
this point, as firmly as " the pharisees held 
the traditions of the elder s." But he was 
not one like the pharisees to " say and do 
not." There is a tradition that when the 
Bishop was a boy, his spartan mother was 
one day "not sparing the rod but chasten- 
ing her son betimes," when an aunt of his 
coming near, showed her appreciation of 
the performance by exclaiming, " give it to 
him well." Trained, as he was, under 
such hands, and in schools and days when 
neither sentimentalism nor sensationalism, 
but solid truth and matter of fact were the 
order and spirit of the day, it is no wonder 
that with the fibre of which he was formed, 
this Bishop should never have grown to 
think that erring boys and girls no longer 
needed discipline at home and school, nor 
ei! i lg men and women, in the church. 



BISHOP MEADE. 15 

Bishop Meade's mode of presiding over 
the Council of his Diocese was certainly 
peculiar, — not very closely tied to rules, in- 
deed, but rather designed to promote the 
freest and fullest interchange of views 
among the members. There was however, 
occasional need of the decision of the chair, 
— which was apt not to tarry for reference 
to the rule of order, but to be promptly 
given ex cathedra. I recall a striking in- 
stance of the kind which occurred at one of 
the Councils — near the hour for final ad- 
journment. It was Saturday night, and 
past eleven o'clock. A question deemed 
important was under discussion, which ex- 
cited strong feeling on both sides. At the 
time referred to, the member who had the 
floor, was giving the unpleasant impression 
that he meant, if possible, to defeat the 
motion before the house by consuming the 



16 BEMINISCENCES OF 

remainder of the hour in talking, regardless 
of calls to order from the benches. But 
when the case had reached a point at which 
the speaker's intent became palpable and 
flagrant, the decision of the chair was given, 
with the authority that enforces obedience, 

in the brief sentence, " Mr take your 

seat." And Mr took his seat; and 

if there be a doubt about the " steterunt 
com33" in the case, there could be none 
about the " vox faucibus hsesit." 

Bp. Meade's Hardiness. 

If Bishop Meade seemed severe in his 
rule over others, it was not that he would 
lay upon others burdens he was himself 
unwilling to bear, or lay down a law for 
others, by which he was unwilling to abide. 
Few men had greater power of endurance, 
or more freely endured hardness as a good 



BISHOP MEADE. 17 

soldier. He had strength to spend, and 
was willing to spend it for the Master whom 
he served with body and spirit. Ever the 
earliest riser on his premises, he used him- 
self to ring the bell which roused the ser- 
vants for their duties, — of which the first 
was to attend the morning prayers which 
he conducted for them. This first action 
of each day, in the dark, cold winter morn- 
ings of that region, itself made a draft upon 
strength of nerve and force of will which 
would soon have exhausted the supply 
possessed by most persons. But the man 
who could weather the Blue Bidge, on horse- 
back, a day so cold that the mailrider was 
frozen to death, was made of sterner stuff 
than common men. He never stopped for 
weather which did not make it physically 
impracticable to go. I never saw him 
kept at home by snow, except when it 



18 REMINISCENCES OF 

was too deep for his horse to get along 
without labouring too hard, — for as a 
" righteous man, he regarded the life of 
his beast." But I have seen him start 
from home on horseback, early Sunday 
morning in a snowstorm to officiate in 
Winchester, 15 miles off, or at some other 
point, about as distant, at 11 a.m. I, one 
Sunday rode behind him, (on the same 
horse) to the "Old Chapel," when the 
weather was so cold that the aching of my 
fingers and toes made an impression, not 
yet forgotten. And I remember that he 
took a back road, (by Brierley's Mill) which 
was very unusual with him, because it was 
more thickly wooded than the Millwood 
Road, and gave better shelter from the ter- 
rible Nor-wester that was blowing. Though 
even this precaution was most probably 
taken on my account, rather than his own. 



BISHOP MEADE. 19 

In the early years of his Episcopate, he 
used to travel over all his large Diocese on 
horseback, and not until he felt the necessity 
for it, from the creeping on of age and 
infirmity, did he indulge in the ease and 
comfort of a carriage for his visitations. 

Bp. Meade's Simplicity of life. 

This term has its application to Bishop 
Meade in the spiritual sense in which it is 
coupled in Scripture with " godly sincerity," 
■ — that is, the sense of " singleness of heart 
and purpose with which he devoted himself 
and all he possessed to the service of Christ, 
at all times, in all places and circumstances. 
But the sense in which the word is here 
used is more material, and has reference 
rather to the style of this soldier of the 
Cross, as he appeared in the fight against 
the world, the flesh and the devil, — and to 



20 REMINISCENCES OF 

the manner in which he bore himself, as he 
stood in person, in the breach made by the 
world, in the barriers of the Church. (And 
we understand Bishop Meade the better, if 
we always consider him a soldier in the 
fight against these foes, — and bound by vows 
to God and His church, to make no peace 
with them " unto his life's end ; " and that, 
as really and uncompromisingly as Hanni- 
"bal, — whose soldierly qualities the Bishop 
highly appreciated, — felt himself bound by 
his oath on the altar of his country, never 
to make peace with the Komans.) 

This simplicity was apparent in the Bi- 
shop's dress, in his equipage, in the furni- 
ture of his house, and in all the habits of 
his life. 

He used his example as well as teaching 
against "the pomps and vanities of this 
wicked world," its follies, extravagances and 



BISHOP MEADE. 21 

fashion. And this " fashion of the world " 
he considered not a mere light, unsubstan- 
tial, vapourous thing that "passeth away" 
and does no harm; but like a rolling torrent, 
which as it "passeth away/' takes along 
with it much of the subsoil piety of Christian 
professors, and leaves behind seams and 
scars which disfigure and damage, if they 
do not destroy "the vineyard which the 
right hand of the Lord hath planted." And 
he thought thafthis "fashion of the world " 
both in men and women, extended to dress 
and show and style, as well as to the seduc- 
tive and defiling amusements of the world. 
Against all these he set his face like a flint, 
and in some respects with marked pecu- 
liarity. It is said, that in his early man- 
hood his dress was so singular, as to be a 
general subject of remark. But this was 
never the case within my knowledge of him, 



22 REMINISCENCES OF 

as his dress, though severely simple, never 
in that time, wanted the neatness and pro- 
priety that mark a gentleman. Nor could 
it ever have been said of him, as a school- 
mate of Bishop Meade's once said of him- 
self, that " other people's eyes had never 
cost him a nine-pence." To the end of his 
days, he wore the dress-coat in vogue with 
the gentlemen of his youth, and his cravat 
was of snowy whiteness. The man how- 
ever, who could * get up ' Bishop Meade in 
modern ' clerical cut,' with signet-ring, and 
gold watch chain and dangling cross, would 
exhibit a force of imagination and artistic 
powers which " Mr. Punch " should lose no 
time in engaging. He adorned the Epis- 
copal robes with as noble presence and right 
reverend manhood as any Bishop on the 
Bench, but lawn sleeves and ruffled bands 
and satin robe and mitred chair were small 



BISHOP MEADE. 23 

[ items in his Episcopal composition, 

The following extract from a letter of 
Bishop Meade's is characteristic, and to the 
point, — 

Mountain View, February 10th, 1856. 

Dear E. 

Oil my return home before Christmas I found 
a Chinese Wrapper which was brought by a son of 

of Berryville. In it w T as a card having your 

name upon it, from which I infer the donor. It 
came just in good time as my old one was giving out. 
It fit me exactly and had no fault at all in any other 
eyes than mine. To them it appears too fine. But 
I have to submit to some things, of which in former 
days I should have said, " Am I a dog that I should 
do this tiling." It is peculiarly opportune to have 
warm clothing at' this time, for the last six weeks 
are supposed to have been the most severe continuous 
spell known to the present generation. On five 
successive Sundays we had snow and the ground 
being covered with ice when the first fell and no 



24 REMINISCENCES OF 

melting having yet occurred, it is all here, and no 
travelling can be done except on sleighs, jumpers, &c. 
I have been confined entirely to the house during 
all the time except a little walk along the path to 
the stable after sunset (as my eyes cannot bear snow 
and sunshine together,) and two visits to church well 
wrapped up. Shut up in my room with green blinds 
I have however, through the blessing, of God, been 
able to do more reading and writing than during 
any six weeks of my life. 

Of his family equipage, it must be said, 
that it was not so seemly as his dress. In 
the vigour of his manhood, he himself 
always rode on horseback, and his horse 
was generally a good one, for he had the 
love for a horse peculiar to the natives of 
that soil. But his family -carriage was odd- 
looking enough to have been preserved as 
an antique by the side of the old chariot of 
General Washington, which was formerly 
kept at " Lucky Hit," as an heir-loom of 



BISHOP MEADE. 25 

the Meade family. This vehicle had four 
wheels, and a seat on the hinder axle-tree, 
(how often I have stood or sat upon it, 
bouncing over the lime- stone ridges in those 
so-called roads!) and it had inner seats and 
a driver's seat, and apologies for springs, 
but the "tout ensemble" of this memorable 
carriage was so striking to all who knew it, 
that the common saying of the neighbour- 
hood about it was, that "it must run by 
grace." 

The furniture of Bishop Meade's house 
was of the plainest kind known to the Cabi- 
net-maker. Of the elements composing 
this furniture, not one part in ten could in 
justice be set down under the head of com- 
fort. Tables, chairs, benches or what not, 
were constructed on the hardest idea of the 
useful, and almost as if with the designed 
exclusion of ornament and ease. No elegant 



26 REMINISCENCES OF 

easy-chair or costly articles of show set off, 
with " lazy dignity " his library or parlour . 
Inviting spring sofas, or lounges suggestive 
of indulgence were not found there. Every 
thing in that house spoke use and work, 
and seemed to say, " the working man has 
no time for luxurious repose ; the man who 
is tired with his work can rest on any seat." 
Let it not however, be supposed that 
there was any thing mean or niggardly, or 
any want of reasonable, sensible, good and 
abundant supply for vigorous and healthy 
appetite, from garden and orchard and vine- ' 
yard and field and flock and herd and 
dairy, — or that there was any lack of ge- 
nerous hospitality to .Bishops and other 
clergy, and visitors from far and near, with 
" feast of reason and flow of soul " worthy 
of the Bishop of Virginia, in that plainly 
furnished mansion. 



BISHOP MEADE. 27 

One of the companies among the guests 
of " Mountain View " has often come up to 
my memory, as strikingly illustrating the 
changes in times and men. This had 
prominent among its members the late Bi- 
shop Ives of North Carolina with his wife 
and only son, (a child of singular beauty, 
who was early taken to the "better coun- 
try,") and the Bevd. Dr. Brook, (once of 
Georgetown, D.C.,) happily and heartily 
uniting in the services of a Virginia "As- 
sociation/' at Millwood. This was in 1834. 

It is not out of place here to add, that 
among the material elements of the good 
cheer of Bishop Meade's house, neither 
wine, nor strong drink, nor the Virginia 
weed were found. "With all the force of his 
influence and example he opposed indul- 
gence in strong drink. Any use of it but 
medicinal, he considered more or less in- 



28 REMINISCENCES OF 

jurious, — and the habitual use of it, as a 
matter of fact, so largely and fearfully 
damaging to the health, peace and property 
of persons and families, and such an ex- 
citant to wrong and violence and every 
crime, that (in his judgment) Christians 
ought as much as possible to avoid and 
discourage it. As to tuine, while he did not 
place it in the same category with the 
former, or consider the use of it, " wherein 
is no excess/' either wrong or injurious, in 
itself, — he yet thought that in view of the 
many instances of wine-drinking " wherein 
is excess," it was incumbent on him to 
avoid the appearance of evil in this matter, 
and not in the least degree to give counten- 
ance as a Christian, or as a Bishop, to any 
who would indulge in wine. And this, he 
believed, could best be done by abstaining 
from wine as a common beverage and set- 



BISHOP MEADE. 29 

ting tliis example before others. And I 
remember bearing bim say, in 1844, tbat 
on a recent occasion a number of the Bi- 
shops had conferred upon this subject, and 
that several of them had agreed with him 
to adopt this course thereafter. 

To the use of tobacco Bishop Meade had so 
strong a repugnance, that the man in whom 
he delighted, (save in the matter of his fumes 
and perfumes of the weed,) his venerable 
successor is said to have put in, for his own 
defence, the facetious plea that "he in- 
dulged in the use of tobacco, but Bishop 
Meade in the abuse of it." The following 
incident is also related, touching the same 
point : — the Bishop returning once from a 
Diocesan Council-meeting with a party in 
which was one of his sons, they all stopped 
for a night at a house where the same party, 
except the Bishop, had staid on their way 



80 REMINISCENCES OF 

to the Council. After supper, their host 
brought out pipes and tobacco, as on the 
former occasion, when they had proved so 
acceptable to his guests. The Bishop, to 
whom they were offered first, of course, 
declined. And when they were offered in 
turn to his son and the others, the Bishop 
surprised his innocent host, by saying, 
" My sons, Sir, are too well trained to 
smoke, — (but guiding his words with dis- 
cretion added) at least before me." He 
considered the use of tobacco objectionable 
on the score of health, cleanliness and 
economy, in which many agree with him, 
from whom however, he differed in this, 
that convinced of the evil, he therefore let 
it alone. 

But the man of such abstemiousness had 
no particle of littleness, or narrow-minded- 
ness or closeness about him. Though it is 



BISHOP MEADE. 31 

a statement I cannot prove by figures, yet 
I am persuaded from what I do know, that 
he gave for the good of others more, in 
proportion to his means, if not more abso- 
lutely than any one else in Virginia. As 
an illustration in point, I may state that 
being once present on the occasion of a 
collection taken up in the church of his 
own neighbourhood, for an object of in- 
terest, I became cognizant of the fact that 
the Bishop's contribution was two-thirds of 
the whole amount obtained, though there 
were not a few persons of substance there. 
What he spared to spend on himself in 
luxurious indulgence, he spared not to 
spend on any good and worthy cause. 

The simplicity of Bishop Meade extended 
to his whole style and habit of life. One 
prominent little characteristic in this line, 
was his frequently carrying with him to 



32 REMINISCENCES OF 

places where lie was to officiate, his robes 
of office, wrapped in a red silk handkerchief. 
This, I have seen him do on horseback. 
And I have been told that when in England, 
in 1842, being under engagement to preach 
for the Bishop of London, he went at the 
appointed time with his red bundle under 
his arm, to the door of the Bishop of Lon- 
don's house, and rang the bell. A servant 
came to the call, — and Bishop Meade (it is 
doubtful whether he ever had a visiting card) 
said he wished to see the Bishop of Lon- 
don. The servant eyeing this stranger with 
the red bundle, and ignorant of his dignity, 
answered that his master could not be seen. 
Whereupon Bishop Meade urged that he 
must see him, for he was to preach for him 
that day. The man at the door still re- 
fusing him admission, Bishop Meade said to 
him, ' go and tell your master that the Bishop 



BISHOP MEADE. 33 

of Virginia wants to see him/ Something 
in the tone supplying the place of shovel- 
hat, kneebreeches and apron, the door flew 
open, and the servant with the best man- 
ners he could use, said to the Bishop with 
the red bundle, " "Walk in my lord/' And 
to the end, he maintained the same simpli- 
city ; for on his last journey, from his own 
house to Eichmond, to perform his last 
Episcopal act, I met him at Gordonsville, 
and there was the red bundle again, con- 
taining his robes and a few articles of 
clothing. And this was all his baggage, as 
transportation of any thing heavy was dif- 
ficult at the time, (March 1862,) and he was 
expecting to return home in a very few days. 
Little did we think, that day, how soon he 
would be at his heavenly home. 

The simplicity of his taste inclined 
strongly to the love of the rural and pastoral. 



34 REMINISCENCES OF 

He greatly loved the country, the fields, 
the trees, agriculture, horticulture, cattle 
and sheep. Of sheep he was particularly 
fond and had during many years, much the 
finest flock, (numbering generally about 
200,) that I ever saw in Virginia. He was 
himself an excellent shepherd, often in per- 
son tending the flock, sheltering and feed- 
ing them in winter, and giving them salt 
and change of pasture twice a week in 
summer. He delighted to see the flock 
ranging his fields and lawns, and the lambs 
skipping and gamboling over the limestone 
ledges that cropped up through the soil. 
Apropos of which, the saying should be pre- 
served which he said to some one who was 
advocating the practice of dancing, — viz : 
that "he liked to see the lambs skip and 
play, but he thought it very ugly in the 
grown sheep." His fancy for fine sheep 



BISHOP MEADE. 35 

was strongly illustrated by an answer he 
is said to have given to some gentleman in 
England, who asked him what he saw in 
England that struck him as most unlike 
what he saw in America ? — The Bishop's 
answer was "Windsor Castle and Mr. 
Webb's sheep," — an answer which had the 
effect of putting the mark of Mr. Webb's 
fine " South-Downs" on many a flock in 
the Valley and other parts of Virginia ; as 
Mr. Webb acknowledged the high tribute 
to his name, by sending the Bishop a pair 
of the best of his flock to be taken to his 
home in Virginia, — and their descendants 
were spread throughout all that region. 

By. Meade's Wisdom. 

To say that I think Bishop Meade was 
the wisest man I ever knew, might convey 
little meaning to some, and by others be 



36 REMINISCENCES OF 

thought simply an extravagant expression 
of admiration. But it is an opinion care- 
fully formed, and not too strongly stated. 
Integrity of purpose in seeking the highest 
ends, — clear perception of the fitness of 
things in choosing the best means, — and 
determined will in applying the best means 
known to the highest ends sought — are 
prime constituents of wisdom. And an 
analysis of Bishop Meade's character shows 
that each of these elements entered largely 
into it — honesty of aim, soundness of judg- 
ment, and decision in action, — and that 
the three were well combined. The words 
of the poet, "Let all the ends thou aimst 
at be thy God's and truth's/' and better 
still, the words of the Master, " Seek first 
the Kingdom of God and his rightousness " 
describe the purpose of his life. This pur- 
pose taken, he judged that to accomplish 



BISHOP MEADE. 37 

it, he must give himself, his time, his 
talents and his goods. This judgment 
formed, he decidedly and persistently acted 
on it, to the end of his days. And this, 
with great variety of application, for his in- 
tercourse with men was large and the de- 
partments of his life-work were very various. 
He was trusted for his integrity, respected 
for his judgment, and sometimes feared 
for his immoveable decision and firmness. 
And from long observation of the happy 
combination of these traits in him, there 
was extensively felt the fullest confidence 
in his wisdom. 

Testimony from many sources, public 
and private, could be produced, abundantly 
setting forth Bishop Meade's remarkable 
wisdom. Without however, going into the 
field of his public labours, illustrations 
enough, and striking enough may be found, 






38 REMINISCENCES OF 

of a more private kind. Of these I select 
the following : — 

In 1865, I met for the first time after 
Bishop Meade's death, with the late Gene- 
ral Lewis of Eockingham Co., — a man of 
well-known ability and discernment, and 
whose ideal of excellence was not easy to 
realise. And as our conversation turned 
naturally upon Bishop Meade's life and cha- 
racter, General Lewis expressed his high 
appreciation of the Bishop's wisdom, by 
saying that he had never differed with him 
but upon two points in all their long and 
intimate relation as friends, and as asso- 
ciates in the affairs of the church. Any 
who are acquainted with the distinguishing 
peculiarities of these friends of many years, 
both of whom were of an old and hardy race, 
native to the Valley of Virginia " whose 
blood was fet from fathers of war-proof," 



BISHOP MEADE. 39 

and each of whom most decidedly had a 
will of his own, — mil, I think, agree with 
me that this testimony borne by General 
Lewis to the wisdom which had so nearly 
filled up his standard measure w T as particu- 
larly strong and worthy to be remembered. 
And all the more so too, in that the very 
exceptions mentioned would seem to many, 
and most emphatically, to prove the rule. 

Another testimony to the point : — I re- 
member hearing it stated some years ago, 
upon what at the time seemed reliable 
authority, that when ex-President Tyler and 
Bishop Meade were members together of 
the Board of Visitors of William and Mary 
College, Mr. Tyler, after feeling the force 
of the Bishop's influence in their confer- 
ences held in the interests of the College, 
said that " Bishop Meade was the wisest 
man in counsel, he had ever known/ ' It 



40 REMINISCENCES OF 

cannot be doubted that the ex-President of 
the U. S. was in a position to give an 
opinion on this point, entitled to much 
respect. For in the course of a long poli- 
tical life he had been in contact with all 
the great men of the country, and especially 
in Cabinet councils during the term of his 
Presidency. And this term, by the way, 
was marked by at least one great event, 
brought to the birth after much labour and 
travail of the nation, viz : the annexation 
of Texas to the U. S., which became in 
turn, the fruitful parent of other " enter- 
prises of great pith and moment " in the 
country's history. 

Again: — I have been credibly informed 
that when Bishop Meade's three sons had 
come to years, he, having already given 
them the best advantages for education, 
divided his property into four, (substanti- 



BISHOP MEADE. 41 

ally equal) parts, and gave one to each, of 
his sons, retaining one for himself. By this 
course he practically became his own ex- 
ecutor, providing for his children in his 
lifetime, having the satisfaction of seeing for 
himself the. fruit of his labours and the just 
application of his estate, and at the same 
time reserving to himself the means of doing 
good as he had opportunity. This would 
seem to be the highest practicable wisdom, 
in a man of property, as regards the dis- 
posal of his property. And this is the 
more apparent in contrast with the course 
of so many who having large estates, keep 
an eager grasp upon them to the end of 
their life, leaving them to be squandered or 
quarreled over when they are gone, or to 
build monuments that will save from perish- 
ing nothing of them but their pride. 

Once more :— When on my way to attend 



42 REMINISCENCES OF 

the funeral of Bishop Meade, I met with 
a gentleman of some prominence in the 
church in Virginia, who in the course of 
conversation about the venerable departed, 
related the following : — That on his way to 
the first Diocesan Council of which he was 
a member, he met with Mr, Eichard Cun- 
ningham, a man much older than himself, 
and of long experience in ecclesiastical mat- 
ters. And as they were talking of some 
measure likely to engage the interest of the 
Council, he asked Mr. C. how he intended 
to vote in the case ? To which Mr. C. re- 
plied, "I don't know yet, until I see Bishop 
Meade and hear what he has to say about 
it." This gentleman said to Mr. C. that 
he was surprised at his want of independ- 
ence, in that he must wait 'till he heard 
from Bishop Meade to know how he must 
vote, instead of having an opinion of his 



BISHOP MEADE. 43 

own. Mr. C. however, rejoined, "By the 
time you have known Bishop Meacle as long 
as I have, you will very probably feel just 
as I do when any matter of importance is 
to be decided. Bishop Meade has better 
opportunities of knowing the merits of these 
questions than I have, and gives more time 
and thought to them than I can, and con- 
sidering his ability and experience and 
usually sound judgment, I prefer to hear 
from him before deciding how I shall vote." 
And the younger member said, he had lived 
quite long enough to come over to Mr. C.'s 
opinion, and when any difficult question 
came up, before determining how he should 
vote, he too liked very much to hear what 
Bishop Meade had to say on the subject. 

I w T ill only add in this connection, that 
Bishop Meade's wisdom was apparent in 
his ordinary conversation. Few, I dare 



44 REMINISCENCES OF 

say, ever heard him after he became a man, 
utter an unwise or inconsiderate word. I 
never did. Whatever he said was for the 
most part instructive and entertaining, as 
well as expressive of deep thought, exten- 
sive reading and large acquaintance with 
men and things. Not unfrequently his 
words were marked by great sagacity and 
made lasting impressions on the minds of 
those who heard them. Always cheerful, 
often genial, he was among the most wel- 
come of guests and agreeable of hosts be- 
cause of his rich mental resources, and 
pleasant at once and profitable conversation. 

Bp. Meade's Eloquence. 

If by eloquence is to be meant cultivated 
art in elocution, or elaborate polish of style, 
or studied graces of manner, Bishop Meade 
was excelled in such eloquence by many of 



BISHOP MEADE. 45 

his co-temporaries. But besides an abun- 
dance of matter well digested, there was in 
him a thorough earnestness of manner and 
vigour of expression and forcibleness of 
action which, in connection with his clear, 
strong and musical voice, made him one of 
the most effective preachers of his day. 
Garrick's severe and clever answer to a 
clergyman of his time, " We speak fiction 
as if it were truth, and you speak truth as 
if it were fiction," had no application to 
Bishop Meade. He preached what he be- 
lieved, and his manner told plainly that he 
believed what he preached. The portrait 
of a preacher, which the poet Cowper gives 
us in his " Task," is far too tame for him, 
and falls far short in its expression of the 
power of which the hearers of Bishop Meade 
were conscious. His power was as telling 
also, on the low as on the high, — by no 



46 REMINISCENCES OF 

means the case universally with gifted men. 
In my childhood I heard him, not unfre- 
quently, preaching to the negroes of his 
parish, and retain a lively impression of the 
effect produced. 

His addresses on occasions when he ad- 
ministered the Eite of Confirmation have 
doubtless been felt and remembered to the 
long continued good of their souls, by 
hundreds upon whom " after the example 
of the holy apostles, he at such times laid 
his hands." 

And especially memorable were those ad- 
dresses of indescribable earnestness, pathos 
and power which he was accustomed to 
deliver to the congregations assembled at 
the closing services of the Annual Diocesan 
Council. In them he seemed to reach the 
full stature of a Christian Bishop and Pas- 
tor feeding the flock of God committed to 



BISHOP MEADE. 47 

his charge. How did his trumpet- voice 
utter then, with no uncertain sound, warn- 
ings against the evils of the world, the 
flesh and the devil, — entreaties to professed 
believers to be true to their Christian vows, 
— encouragements to the weak, not to be 
weary or faint, but with good heart to 
press on to the prize, — words of comfort 
and peace to those who were in sorrow and 
trial, — and especially, solemn charges to 
his clergy to be faithful in their high call- 
ing, by holding firmly to the truth of God's 
written word and being themselves examples 
to their flocks ! 

Of Bishop Meade's forensic eloquence, 
the most striking instance I remember, was 
an address of his before the Annual Council 
of 1841, held in Alexandria. The doctrines 
maintained and influence exerted by the 
" Oxford Tracts" formed the subject of a 



48 REMINISCENCES OF 

very animated discussion, in the course of 
which speeches of ability were made by 
several of the clergy and laity. The vener- 
able Bishop Moore, who then for the last 
time presided at the Council of his Diocese, 
had just concluded in his usual felicitous 
style and manner an address giving his 
views, and condemning the " Tracts for the 
Times " as "Romanism in disguise." Bi- 
shop Meade then arose to deliver his mind 
on the subject. His key-note was clearly 
struck in the application to these "Tracts " 
of the distinctly remembered words, ' ' rather 
Romanism unmasked" Whether there were 
any reporter present, or whether there be 
any record preserved of that debate, I do 
not know, but Bishop Meade was an Orator 
that day, worthy of a high place on the roll. 
In matter, language, action, voice and 
earnestness, and in the fire of eloquence he 



BISHOP MEADE. 49 

could hardly have been excelled. I recol- 
lect how strong was the impression of Bi- 
shop Meade's power as a debater made by 
that speech upon the mind of the late Dr. 
M. Mahan, a critical, and not partial judge. 

In speaking of Bishop Meade's eloquence, 
his fine reading of the Church services 
should not be omitted. His manner was 
so unaffectedly earnest and solemn, his in- 
tonation so clearly expressive of the sense 
of what he read, that the exhortations and 
lessons and praises and prayers were there- 
by rendered far more intelligible, interest- 
ing and impressive. 

Never did the ring of his noble voice 
sound more strikingly in my ear, than in 
the last service he performed, but a few 
days before his departure from this world. 
It seemed to tell so forcibly, that though 
his steps tottered as he passed up the Aisle 



50 REMINISCENCES OF 

of the church, the soul that inspired his 
frail body was indeed " lightened with 
celestial fire," as he committed to the can- 
didate before him the high office which he 
himself was so soon to lay down. 

Bp. Meade's Wide range of view. 

There was scarcely, however, any other 
feature of this Christian Bishop so promi- 
nent as his breadth of view, exhibited in 
his laborious, costly and persistent efforts 
to spread abroad the gospel of Christ and 
extend the Church of the living God. 

While he was by no means dazzled by 
the distance of objects for Christian zeal 
and enterprise, to the neglect of those near 
by, — for so far from being unmindful of the 
" charity that begins at home," he all his 
life long took the deepest interest in the 
welfare of the families and persons of those 



BISHOP MEADE. 51 

who lived in his own. neighbourhood and 
region, the old, the middle aged and the 
young, — vet neither was his vision bounded 
by these as its horizon, but it extended to 
"regions beyond." 

Long before he was chosen Bishop, (I do 
not say his name and fame, as these terms 
seem inapplicable to such a man, but) his 
influence and power were felt through the 
length and breadth of Virginia, and in other- 
parts of the country. Since the days of John 
Wesley, a more energetic itinerant has hardly 
been seen, or one whose horse and saddle- 
bags travelled so extensive a circuit. When 
I first knew him as the Eector of the stone 
" Chapel " in Frederick (now Clark) County, 
he officiated there generally, on every other- 
Sunday only, the alternate Sundays being 
given to building up congregations and 
churches in the desolate places around ; on 



52 REMINISCENCES OF 

which, days his place was supplied, at the 
" Chapel " by his father-in-law, that worthy 
Christian gentleman and beautiful speci- 
men of old age, with snow-white hair and 
deep, rich voice, who so long officiated there 
as lay-reader, and to the same audience that 
attended the Bector's ministrations. And 
every now and then, Mr. Meade's visits 
were extended to more remote places, for 
he spared neither personal effort nor per- 
sonal expense that he might as far as in 
him lay, preach the gospel of Chist to those 
who did not have it. 

Bishop Meade also spent no small amount 
of his own money in purchasing, or in 
publishing for gratuitous distribution, such 
valuable books as he thought conducive to 
the defence and establishment of truth and 
sound doctrine and to the building up of 
Christians in the faith. His appreciation 



BISHOP MEADE. 53 

of the learned labours and able productions 
of others in this direction, was also shown 
in sundry instances by the republication of 
such works at his own expense, or by some 
public acknowledgment of their worth. 
One instance of this latter kind which now 
occurs to me, was his very handsome letter 
to Bishop Hopkins, thanking him for his 
able little book, entitled "Novelties which 
disturb our peace," — and gratefully recog- 
nizing the heaven-bestowed gifts which 
he had so well and successfully employed 
against "erroneous and strange doctrine." 
The same disposition to spend of his own, 
to extend his Master's work, was shown by 
him in rendering aid to worthy young men 
without means, to procure the education 
necessary to qualify them as candidates for 
holy Orders, and to fit them for the minis- 
try. And in how many instances this was 



54 REMINISCENCES OF 

done, I suspect no one now living can tell. 

Nor was his interest in the spread of the 
gospel, the defence of the faith, and the 
lengthening of the cords and strengthening 
of the stakes of the church, limited to his 
own country. The fields of Foreign Missions 
too, were dear to his heart, received of his 
means, and felt the benefit of his influence. 

The Theological Seminary of Virginia, 
with the founding and building up of which 
he had so much to do, and over which he 
so long presided, has furnished to the 
American Episcopal Church Missions to 
the heathen, the great majority of their 
clergy and all of their Bishops, from the 
beginning of these Missions down to the 
present time. And while I do not say that 
all this is due to Bishop Meade, yet, to 
state the case mildly, it certainly seems to 
speak with no little force for the favour 



BISHOP MEADE. 55 

borne to Foreign Missions by the Master 
spirit of the Institution. 

But the following extracts from letters of 
his, in reply to one who had asked his 
counsel on the subject of going to a foreign 
field, show more pointedly how he stood 
affected towards this work : — ■ 

In one letter he wrote, 

" It ought to be a subject of great thankfulness to 
us all when God puts it into any heart to desire to 
go to the ends of the earth with the glad tidings of 
salvation through His Son. I cannot throw any 
obstacle in the way, where I think there are suitable 
qualifications. " 

In another letter of later date to the 
same, he wrote : — 

" Contending thoughts and emotions were awaken- 
ed in my bosom by your letter received a few days 
since. While I was troubled at thought of the pro- 
bability of losing you from Virginia, I was thankful 
that the desire to serve God in a foreign land was 



56 REMINISCENCES OF 

still animating your heart. I dare not say no, or 
withhold such commendation as I can give, especially 
in this time of need, when I perceive our Committee 
are even inviting those of other Communions to come 
over to our help, as if to provoke our own ministers 
to jealousy.'* 

Nothing more is needed to show Bishop 
Meade's comprehensiveness of view in re- 
ference to the great work of the church of 
Christ, and that by example, influence, 
effort, and by all means in his power, as 
well as in all practicable ways he sought to 
help on the spread of Christ's Kingdom 
from his own home and neighbourhood to 
the remotest parts of the earth. 

Bp. Meade's Love of Little childken. 

As some of the harder lineaments of the 
Bishop's manhood have here been brought to 
notice, it is but just to say, it had its softer 
andmore attractive ones as well. Prominent 



BISHOP MEADE. 57 

among these were devotion to his kindred, 
faithfulness to friendship, generous kind- 
ness to the needy, and his love for little 
children. Not only with his grandchildren 
was it the case, but wherever he went, if 
there were a little child in the house, it was 
not long before he had the child in his arms, 
or on his knees, nursing it with almost a 
mother's love and gentleness. 

He took special pleasure, as a minister 
of the church and servant of his Lord, in 
administering the sacrament of Baptism to 
infants, (as no man laboured more earnestly 
to have them trained to "lead the rest of 
their lives according to this beginning/') 
And little as he cared for external appear- 
ances, I have known him to say, that when 
baptizing infants, his sunburnt hands, 
which never disturbed him at other times, 
were in unsightly contrast with the pure 



58 REMINISCENCES OF 

white skin of the infant in his arms. 

As he loved little children, so they in 
turn loved him. And this is well illustrat- 
ed by a little incident which occurred many 
years ago in Norfolk, where the Bishop and 
sundry other persons were assembled in the 
parlour of a gentleman who had a deaf 
mute child, about 2 years old at the time. 
The child coming to the door of the parlour 
and seeing so many strangers, looked in- 
tently at them one by one, and then, as 
with intuitive perception choosing one of the 
number, extended its little arms, and ran 
straight to the Bishop, who as heart met 
heart, enjoyed greatly his triumph, and was 
deeply touched by this pretty and more 
than speaking tribute of the mute child to 
his own love for children. 

And with this pleasant little picture I 
close these reminiscences of Bishop Meade, 



BISHOP MEADE. 59 

— delighting to have re-called in them this 
man of rigid discipline, a soldier's hardi- 
ness and severe simplicity, — of solid wis- 
dom, a lofty eloquence and far-reaching 
view, and, who with something of his 
master's tenderness for little children loved 
to take them in his arms and relieve his care 
and toil and pain while listening to their 
prattle and enjoying their winning ways. 

No existing portrait gives any just ex- 
pression of the character of Bishop Meade. 
To those who knew him long and well, 
there is daguerreotyped upon the memory, 



60 REMINISCENCES OF BISHOP MEADE. 



A MAN 

Of vigorous fkame, 

expeessive features and 

determined will ; 

POINTED TO SPEAK, 
DECIDED TO ACT, 
HARDY TO BEAR AND 
$ GENEROUS TO GIVE ; 

H Walking humbly with God, but fearing no man : ii 

* A FOE TO ALL SIN, A FRIEND TO ALL GOOD ; 

$ A Christian whose works were seen, 

w A Bishop whose power was felt ; c| 

$[ Strong in the faith, Steadfast to truth and £ 

I • T3, I 

c^ LiARNEST IN PRAYER ; I 

k9e8-&s©s*-esgS» Denying himself, #$3e8--8s©e* « 

I 1 

Z Living to Christ 

■jg And loving mankind. © 

<£ Who fought a good fight i 

% And finished his course, $ 

1 Standing firm to the last; 1 

ft ») 

J And, arrived at the end, * 

e| With calmness and trust § 

EAnd good hope through 5 
era 

^ GRACE, £ 

JjjJ Lay down to rest from ? 
? His labours. & 

I . ! 

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REMINISCENCES 



OF 



THE EIGHT EEV. 



WILLIAM MEADE, D.D., 

BISHOP OF THE PBOT. EPIS. CHUECH 
IN VIRGINIA, 

From August 19th 1829, to March 14th 1862. 



By Eev. E. Nelson, 

Missionary in China. 



SHANGHAI: 

" CHING-FOONG " GENERAL PRINTING OFFICE, 

1873. 



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